Agitated Atmosphere: Peaking Lights – 936

As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosphere hopes to pull back the curtain on a wealth of sights and sound from luminaries such as Peaking Lights.

It’s been nearly two years since Agitated Atmosphere has had the pleasure of covering Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis. It’s not as if the duo, better known as Peaking Lights, hasn’t been busy. A trail of releases has lifted the band’s profile in the interim, delivering new fans to just one of the many global psychedelia movements.

Peaking Lights have moved beyond psychedelia.

936, the band’s latest via L.A. hotbed, Not Not Fun, doesn’t abandon the swatches of haze that have long been affixed to the Peaking Lights sound, they’ve just become dynamic. Rather than sit in stasis, Dunis and Coyes have infused the sounds of Jamaica into the mix. Reggaetron and dubstep are the new backbeat to the Peaking Lights aesthetic, even amidst the dirty production and acid melodies of yore.

Listen to “All the Sun That Shines”:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

But music is often more than sound; it’s mood. 936 is a warm beach in the middle of the blizzard. It’s escapism for those in need of an immediate summer. Drinks in hand, good feelings abound, and a chance to shake off the winter rust with an easy sway and a bit of aural alteration. Dunis and Coyes tap into the primal instinct of flight — though the fear that accompanies flight has been coolly replaced with the pent up angst of sun and fun. Peaking Lights: keeping it irie.

“Run, run, run/Run along/Run, run, run/Run a long way…”

Justin Spicer is a freelance journalist whose work can be viewed at his website. He also pens Deserted for the KEXP Blog. You may follow him on Twitter.